The Diabetes Scholars Foundation

Monday, December 28, 2009

The Global Giving Campaign is still chugging along.  The organization on behalf of which I’m working is The Diabetes Scholars Foundation (www.diabetesscholars.org).  So, I thought I should share a little about DSF. 

I found out about DSF through Laura Billetdeaux, who along with Jeff Hitchcock started Children With Diabetes (www.childrenwithdiabetes.com).  Both Laura and Jeff have children with diabetes and formed a group to help other parents find the help and support so desperately needed to deal with this disease.  Not only is it hard to find good resources and good care, but diabetes takes a toll on the whole family.  The group that Laura and Jeff established has blossomed into a trememdous network of conferences and support groups that touches many, many lives.  The Diabetes Scholars Foundation was created by Mary Podjasek as a way to help families without the financial means to get the chance to experience the magic of Children With Diabetes.  It has grown into even more than that. 

For the child with diabetes, and for the family as well, every minute of every day focuses at least a little bit on balancing life around insulin.  For someone who has never seen the damage that high blood sugars wreak on the body or the acute problems such as seizures and unconciousness that low blood sugars can cause, it’s hard to understand why diabetes is so invasive in our daily lives.  The activity of injected insulin always has a level of unpredictability and the difference is measured in something smaller than the head of a pin and in a timespan as short as a minute sometimes.  So, even when things are running on an even keel, we are always aware that the bottom could fall out at any minute. 

It’s stressful.  It’s also financially devastating for many families.  I often quip jokingly that diabetes is not a good disease for the poor or stupid, but there is actually less joke and more reality to that.  It is a complex disease to manage and the cost of medications and the accompanying health care is enormous.  The Diabetes Scholars Foundation is working to fill a gap that doesn’t exist in any other form right now. 

DSF funds scholarships both for conferences and for college for children with Type 1 diabetes.  So, these children and their families can find help on several levels.  The college scholarship program was started in 2008 and has so far awarded 40 scholarships of $5,000.  The added financial burden of diabetes can make college unaffordable for some children and these scholarships can help with the extra costs of health care for kids who are leaving home for college. 

The impact of DSF on the lives of these kids and their families is enormous and immediate:  “this was life changing,” “we feel like we are part of a new family.”  I’ve worked with some of the kids who have benefitted from the work of DSF and it’s been life changing for me as well.  Diabetes can be a very lonely disease because it is so isolating at times.  The work of people like Mary, Laura, and Jeff has alleviated some of that for a lot of families. 

So, here goes my plea to help out!  Here are some links to help us in the Global Giving Campaign:

This is the direct link to the page for Diabetes Scholars Foundation’s Global Giving contribution page:  http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/diabeteseducationscholarships/  and this is the direct link to what they are calling the “leader board” for the global giving campaign:  http://www.globalgiving.org/leaderboards/athletes-for-hope?showAll=true. 

Pass this along to everyone you can.  And, thanks from the bottom of my heart for anything that you can do to help! 

Happy Trails, Missy

Check out this thank you letter from a Diabetes Scholar:

emma_thank_you